During his morning Mass at the Casa Santa Marta, Pope Francis warned us to beware of vanity, which takes us far from the truth and makes us seem like “soap bubbles.” Taking the first reading as his starting point, he emphasised that when they do good, Christians must avoid the temptation to “make themselves seen.”

If you “do not have something substantial, you too will pass like all things.” Pope Francis took his cue from the Book of Ecclesiastes to dwell on vanity…

During his General Audience on Wednesday, Pope Francis reflected on his Apostolic Voyage to Albania.

Below, please find Vatican Radio’s translation of the full text of Pope Francis’ remarks:

Dear brothers and sisters,

Today I want to speak about the Apostolic Voyage I took to Albania last Sunday. I do so first of all as an act of thanksgiving to God, who allowed me to undertake this Visit in order to show, even in a physical and tangible way, my closeness and the closeness of the whole Church to this people…

Europe is a community of life and destiny. Facing the social crisis, Christians have all the tools at their disposal to fashion a Europe of greater fraternity and solidarity that puts people at the heart of its project. The current crisis offers Christians an opportunity to engage in innovative and decided ways for a Europe of solidarity and peace.
 
This is the feeling that emerges from the interaction between the participants, lay, religious and bishops, who gathered on the occasion of the 2nd Catholic Social Days for Europe…

Pope Francis hast left the Albanian capital, Tirana, at the end of his one day visit to the former communist country. After a brief farewell ceremony, as the president and prime minister said goodbye to their special guest, the Pope’s Alitalia plane took off slightly ahead of schedule and was expected to arrive back in Rome just before 9.30pm.

The brief, but very intense 11 hour journey to Albania has been focused on two main themes: the witness of the martyrs and the importance of peaceful co-existence…